The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)’s Accelerator Lab in Uzbekistan has unveiled the outcomes of its research conducted as part of the Gender Mainstreaming initiative in a stride toward comprehending and rectifying the gender disparity in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education.
The report, formulated based on the study's findings in Tashkent city, Fergana, Andijan, and Surkhandarya regions, focuses on pinpointing factors positively influencing girls' and women's choices in STEM education and professions. The report highlights several influential factors shaping the trajectory of women in STEM:
Girls and women exhibit elevated levels of STEM identity and involvement, regardless of parental education. Notably, the technical education of siblings emerges as a pivotal factor guiding career choices within STEM fields.
Motivations for selecting STEM professions reach their zenith during adolescence and early adulthood. Factors such as self-realization, self-development, growth opportunities, and societal regard for STEM play pivotal roles in shaping career choices.
Psychological characteristics and robust social support emerge as cornerstones for confident decision-making in STEM. In light of these findings, the report proposes a set of recommendations to cultivate an environment conducive to women's success in STEM. These include establishing policies supporting women's STEM education to bridge existing gaps, facilitating opportunities for STEM internships abroad to broaden perspectives and experiences for women students, promoting the creation of STEM-focused TV shows and TED Talk platforms featuring successful women in STEM to inspire future generations, and upscaling successful practices of INHA University and Turin Polytechnic University to further empower women in STEM.
The report was presented at INHA University in Tashkent, where in his opening remarks, Ram Iyer, UNDP Resident Representative, remarked:
“By nurturing a girl's interest in STEM from a young age, we are paving her way to success in the future. From building a solid foundation in problem-solving to building confidence to opening doors to exciting career opportunities, more women in STEM are offered many benefits that can transform a girl's life.”
The event emphasized the imperative of investing in STEM education and professions for girls and women, echoing the critical message of the 16 days of activism against gender-based violence that this year called for investing in preventing violence against women and girls.
The report of UNESCO from 2021 underscores the underrepresentation of women in certain fields, revealing that women constitute only 28% of engineering graduates, 40% of computer science graduates, and 22% of professionals engaged in artificial intelligence. In contrast, statistics from the Statistics Agency under the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan indicate a positive trend in the proportion of women graduating from science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) programs in higher education within the country.
Specifically, the data reveals an increase from 32.6% in 2017 to 40.2% in 2021. As of 2023, the proportion of female graduates from higher education programs specializing in natural sciences, mathematics and statistics, social security, information and communication technologies, engineering, mechanical processing, and construction in Uzbekistan stands at 27.3%.
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